Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether, a national nonprofit that exists to transform education to ensure systemically marginalized young people achieve outcomes that lead to fulfilling lives and flourishing communities. Rotherham leads external relations at Bellwether also works in the organization’s Policy and Evaluation practice area. He serves on the Virginia Board of Education.

Rotherham occupies a unique place in the U.S. education sector working across silos. He has been appointed to senior policymaking roles by Democrats and Republicans; works at the intersection of research and policy, media, and practice; and is a longtime champion of heterodoxy, empiricism, and pragmatism in education policy.

Rotherham writes the widely-read blog and newsletter Eduwonk.com. In addition to Bellwether, he founded or co-founded two other education organizations and served on the boards of several successful startups in the sector, and is frequently sought out as a board member and adviser. Rotherham served at the White House as special assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Clinton administration, as a member of the Virginia Board of Education appointed by then-Gov. Mark Warner and more recently by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and as an education columnist for TIME magazine and contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report. He also taught in traditional and experiential settings at the K-12 and college levels.

Rotherham is the author or co-author of more than 450 published articles, book chapters, papers, and op-eds about education policy and politics, and is the author or editor of four books on education policy. The recipient of multiple awards for his professional work, he serves on the board of directors for The 74, a national education media organization, and on the international board of directors for Classroom Champions, a Canada-based nonprofit that pairs Olympic and Paralympic athletes with high-poverty classrooms as mentors. He is a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and a senior advisor at Whiteboard Advisors. Rotherham is also involved in school security work and advises a variety of companies and organizations including Upbeat, a data analytics company focused on teacher engagement and retention; The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University; RAND; and the National Association of State Boards of Education’s EdTech Advisory Group focusing on AI.

Outside of his professional work, Rotherham raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is an EMT, and along with his wife (a public high school English teacher) hosts a concert series featuring regional and national musical acts in a former one-room schoolhouse. A father of two daughters, he lives in Virginia.

Nella García Urban is the CEO of DSST Public Schools. A ninth-generation Texan, García Urban came to DSST from YES Prep Public Schools, a 20,000-student, Houston-based charter school network. García Urban most recently served as Chief External Officer at YES Prep, and held a variety of roles there over a 20-year career.

She graduated from Rice University with degrees in English and Political Science with a focus in Latin American Studies as a Mellon Mays Fellow. She received a master’s degree from Sam Houston State University in Education Leadership focused on charter schools. In 2013, Nella was named a Pahara NextGen Fellow with the Aspen Institute. She completed The Broad Academy for Superintendents in 2020. She is a certified Executive Coach through the John Doerr Institute at Rice University.

Marlon Marshall is the CEO of City Fund. Most recently, he was a founding partner at 270 Strategies. He served as Special Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Director in the Obama White House Office of Public Engagement, Deputy National Field Director for President Obama’s re-election campaign, and States Director for Hillary for America. Marlon hails from St. Louis, Missouri and is a graduate of the University of Kansas. He is a die-hard fan of the Jayhawks and the St. Louis Cardinals, and now lives in Denver with his wife Stacy and their two daughters.

Hanna Skandera brings a proven track record of transformative leadership to her role as president and CEO of the Daniels Fund. Joining the organization’s board in 2019 and taking the helm in 2021, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to impact and positively influencing American life.

Hanna is nationally recognized for her bold leadership, entrepreneurial vision, and focus on outcomes. As Secretary of Education in New Mexico under Governor Susana Martinez, Hanna realized significant improvements in academic achievement and effective management of a $2.7 billion budget. She previously served as Undersecretary for California Governor Schwarzenegger and as Deputy Commissioner for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Education.

The Daniels Fund is a $1.7 billion philanthropic organization that equips people to reach their fullest potential. The Fund provides grants to highly effective nonprofits, has launched the National Civics Bee which is now in 200 cities across 40 states, and provides college scholarships to the next generation of America’s leaders. The Daniels Fund has given away $1.2 billion to thousands of grantees and over 5,200 Daniels Scholars since its founding in 2000 by cable pioneer Bill Daniels.

In addition to her policy and business acumen, Hanna has served as visiting professor at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, a Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and a research fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Pepperdine has honored her as both a Distinguished Alumna and an Outstanding Woman in Leadership.

Hanna serves on the boards of Daniels Fund, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, MGT, Perdoceo, Philanthropy Roundtable, and Risepoint.